Wrestling’s rock star: An exclusive interview with Frankie Kazarian

Professional wrestlers put their bodies through torture in order to appease their fans, and as such they deserve our respect. When it comes to Frankie Kazarian, however, his many talents aren’t just restricted to the squared circle.

We recently spoke with the former Impact Wrestling superstar in an exclusive interview, during which we spoke about all things pro wrestling – as well as few tidbits that may surprise a few people.

“As a kid, I wanted to be a rock star and I wanted to be a pro wrestler. I wanted it all. I just love having those two passions in my life and, at this point, they’re really balanced out.

There’s this weird stigma that you have to be pigeon-holed into having one love or one passion or even one career, which I think is complete BS. We’re not here for a long time, we’re here for a good time.”

It turns out that Kazarian, who is currently enjoying a run in Ring of Honor, also has many other interests outside of his main profession which include being a bass player for the band VexTemper. Whilst we’ve seen this kind of thing before with the likes of Chris Jericho and Jeff Hardy, few have had as many inspirational words to say as Kaz did when talking about the stereotypes behind chosen career paths.

Whilst we’ve seen this kind of thing before with the likes of Chris Jericho and Jeff Hardy, few have had as many inspirational words to say as Kaz did when talking about the stereotypes behind chosen career paths.

The 40-year-old makes the point of saying that we aren’t going to be around forever, and following your dreams is what makes life worthwhile.

It’s a simple statement but in reality, it proves how logical Kazarian’s argument is. Both in theory and delivery, he’s been able to put several different passions of his into place, which even includes his love of acting. The veteran has been heading off to various auditions over in his home of South California and admits to even loving the simple things in life – like a calm desert night.

Having spent the last few years as a tag team wrestler it’s easy to forget that Frankie is more than capable of being a top singles star, having previously captured five X-Division titles over in TNA as well as becoming a two-time PWG World Champion.

But Kaz isn’t a guy who allows his world to revolve around himself like many superstars within the same industry, having also met his wife Traci Brooks (real name Tracy Brookshaw) whilst on his journey through the trials and tribulations of professional wrestling.

The way Frankie speaks so eloquently and kindly about his family shows that this is a man with tremendous values and someone who can happily ride off into the sunset tomorrow, but still, wants to provide the best life possible for his son and wife.

He may not adore traveling up and down the roads as much as used to, as can be expected, but when you’ve been around the world courtesy of a company putting their trust in you then there isn’t all that much to complain about; which is something he openly admits.

Frankie enjoys a good cigar or whiskey from time to time and whilst this is starting to sound more like a dating profile than an analysis of a world-class performer, it needs to be repeated that Kaz is a guy who puts straight forward ideologies into practice and then executes them flawlessly.

Plus, and this should be a learning curve for everyone out there, the guy is in unbelievable shape for someone who has just entered his 40s. Pro wrestlers know how to keep themselves in shape better than the majority of athletes from many different sports, with the man himself claiming that he’s showing no signs of slowing down.

“Astonishingly enough I see no signs of slowing down, which is crazy because I always told myself that when I’d be turning 40 I’d be looking for a way out. I didn’t think I’d be feeling this good, and I didn’t think I’d still be having this much fun but I am.”

From appearing in Netflix’s GLOW to jamming out with his pals, you could argue that Kaz has a life that many would dream of. In our minds, though, we won’t be happy until seeing this man once again raise a world championship above his head so that wrestling fans around the globe can appreciate Frankie Kazarian for everything that he’s done for this business.

Underrated or not, there’s no denying that Kaz is one of the best and to quote another famous performer, that’s the bottom line.

I'm a 22-year-old sports journalist covering football, MMA, NFL, WWE and more. I'm a Wolves fan, because for some reason I enjoy misery and heartache season after season.
Forever dreaming of a team of Steve Bulls.